AFTER weeks of negotiations, the Senate on Tuesday, April 21, agreed to pass a human trafficking bill that would strengthen criminal penalties.
The move clears the way for the chamber’s confirmation vote on President Barack Obama’s appointment of Loretta Lynch as the next Attorney General to replace Eric Holder.
“I’m glad we can say there is a bipartisan proposal that will allow us to complete action on this important legislation so we can provide help to the victims who desperately need it,” said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky).
McConnell previously vowed to block a vote on Lynch’s confirmation until the Senate moved forward with the sex trafficking bill.
“As soon as we finish the trafficking bill, as I’ve indicated for some time now, we’ll move to the president’s nominee for attorney general – hopefully in the next day or so,” McConnell said Tuesday morning prior to the vote.
With the impasse resolved, Lynch’s confirmation is now underway after a more than five-month wait since her nomination in November 2014. Because of the strong Republican opposition to Lynch’s strong defense of Obama’s immigration actions, Politico reported that the completion of her confirmation could take several days. However, with the support of at least five Republican senators, Lynch is expected to be confirmed.
Democrats had filibustered the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act bill five times due to a provision that would prohibit fines imposed on traffickers to be used to pay for abortions, with the exception of cases including rape, incest or in the event the mother’s life is endangered.
They said Republicans were attempting to expand the “Hyde amendment,” which restricts taxpayer funding of abortions, to also prevent “private money” from fines from being used.
Under the compromise reached by both parties, funding to help trafficking victims would come from two sources: the first would be from fines that would be imposed on trafficking criminals, and the second would come from money already appropriated by Congress for Community Health Centers.
Trafficker fines will be used for victims’ legal services, protection from law enforcement, shelter an counseling for victims, and other programs unrelated to health care or medical services. Funds from the second source will be directed toward health and medical services for victims and will be subject to abortion prohibitions under the “Hyde amendment.”
“I’m pleased that we were able to reach a deal that gets this done in a way that does not expand restrictions on women’s health to non-taxpayer dollars or to new programs, and provides survivors with real dedicated funds for the support and services they need,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), an abortion rights advocate who negotiated the deal with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), according to USA Today.
Despite the agreement, Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) cautioned Republicans against forcing votes on amendments to the bill that could damage the Tuesday agreement.
“I say to my Republican colleagues: Be very careful that you don’t destroy this human-trafficking legislation that is so important … my senators are not going to sit back like shrinking violets and let this stuff go forward without responding in a fashion that will also cause difficult votes for my Republican colleagues,” he said. “Let’s get rid of this quickly. Let’s get Loretta Lynch confirmed quickly, and move on.”
Many senators were pleased with the compromise reached on Tuesday, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who has made sex trafficking a big issue.
“Today marks a major milestone in our fight against sex trafficking,” she said in a statement.
“There are a lot of people on both sides of the aisle who care deeply about supporting victims of trafficking, and I am pleased that we have finally been able to come together to find a resolution that will allow us to move this important legislation forward,” she added.
Cornyn, the main sponsor of the bill, said he was “thrilled” about finally breaking the impasse.
“I look forward to swift passage in the Senate so we can ensure victims of human trafficking receive the resources they need to restore their lives,” he said.
(With reports from Associated Press, Politico, The New York Times and USA Today)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek April 22-24, 2015 Sec. A pg.1)
